The present invention is related generally to the field of devices used for holding medical needles after use. It is more particularly directed to such devices which lock the needle in an enclosure for safe needle disposal.
A particular area of concern for improved needle handling safety is in extracorporeal blood processing. In extracorporeal procedures, blood is removed from a patient, circulated through various tubing segments and one or more processing devices and then usually returned to the patient. Most often, the patient""s blood is accessed via an access needle inserted in a patient vasculature access site, usually a vein or artery. In non-single needle systems, a second needle, also known as a return needle, is similarly inserted in a patient vasculature site, a return site, to return the processed blood to the patient.
Removal of these needles from the patient poses some significant safety concerns. Great care must be taken in the handling of these needles to prevent accidental needle sticks to the practitioner as well as to the patient. Bloodbome disease may be transmitted by such sticks. Moreover, caution must be exhibited relative to the vasculature access removal and return sites so that no damage is done thereto. This is particularly important for patients who routinely undergo extracorporeal treatments such as dialysis wherein the patient may be subjected to treatment as often as every other day. Repetitive needle insertion and removal this often requires a heightened degree of care to avoid vasculature damage so that the access removal and/or return sites are not rendered permanently inaccessible. During and after removal of the needle, manual pressure must be consistently applied to the access and return sites to arrest bleeding and achieve hemostasis thereby promoting natural closure and healing of the puncture opening. A practitioner preferably uses at least one hand to provide this continual manual pressure. Immediately upon needle removal, the practitioner will then also be concerned with using his or her other hand to safely secure the needle in a safety device for disposal.
Numerous devices have been introduced for improving the safety of handling used medical needles; both for syringes and for those needles, catheters or cannulas which may be connected to blood tubing sets or particular medical machines. However, many of these needle holding devices do not provide satisfactory security from the withdrawal of the needle from the device. Generally, if these contemporary devices provide a locking feature at all, it usually involves locking the needle hub or the elastomeric wings attached thereto. For example, three issued U.S. Patents disclose variations involving locking mechanisms like lock washers or analogous devices; namely, U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,384 issued to Nunez; U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,577 issued to Teoh et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,769 issued to Vaillancourt. In these patents, the locking mechanism is directed either to gripping the needle hub (Nunez and Teoh) or the needle by way of mating dimples and protuberances (Vaillancourt). Nevertheless, the current art does not appear to provide for a solid, secure grip directly of any unmodified needle itself which would ensure that the needle will not escape from the needle holding device. Moreover, many other conventional needle holding devices are elaborate in design and thereby entail significant obstacles in manufacturing and use.
In view of the foregoing, it will be understood that improved, simply operated devices for securely locking used needles in safe enclosures for proper disposal are greatly needed in the art. It is toward satisfaction of these and other related desiderata that the present invention is directed.
The present invention is generally directed to a needle holding device having an elongated hollow body with first and second ends, the first end being substantially open for the insertion of a needle therein. A locking member is disposed in or on the hollow body adjacent the open first end. The locking member has an opening to receive and non-releasably hold a needle inserted therethrough. Preferably, the locking member has a plurality of inwardly directed protrusions such that the protrusions engage the needle in a locking relationship when the needle is inserted in and through the locking member opening. The needle holding device preferably includes an elastomeric sealing member operably connected to the hollow body also adjacent the open first end of the hollow body. The sealing member is adapted to admit a needle pierced therethrough.
In another embodiment, a needle holding device according to the present invention further comprises a second hollow body connected to the first hollow body, the second hollow body also having a substantially open end for receiving a needle; and also having a locking member disposed therein adjacent the open end of said second hollow body. The second locking member also has an opening to receive and non-releasably hold a needle inserted therethrough.
Still further embodiments involve needle holding devices in which the elongated hollow body is connected to a tubing segment or another tubing set component. For example, needle holding devices are included wherein the elongated hollow body of a needle holding device is connected to a drip chamber or to a dual drip chamber cassette. Dual needle holding devices are contemplated as connected to such components as well so that the two needles often used in extracorporeal procedures such as dialysis may both be simply secured for disposal after use.
These and other features of the present invention will be further illuminated in the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which are described briefly below.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of an isolated portion of the needle holding device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of another isolated portion of the needle holding device FIG. 1;
FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of the needle holding device of FIG. 1 with a needle to be inserted therein;
FIG. 4B is another cross-sectional view of the needle holding device of FIG. 1 with a needle inserted therein;
FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment of a needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of another alternative embodiment of a needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 7 is an isometric view of yet another alternative embodiment of a needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the needle holding device of FIG. 7 shown in use with two needles locked in place according to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an isolated portion of an alternative needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the isolated portion of the alternative needle holding device shown in FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a top plan view of an alternative isolated portion of a needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 12 is a top plan view of yet another alternative isolated portion of a needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 13 is an isometric view of still another alternative isolated portion of a needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view of the isolated portion of FIG. 13 taken along line 14xe2x80x9414 thereof;
FIG. 15 is a top plan view of yet still another alternative isolated portion of a needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 16 is an isometric view of an alternative needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 17 is an isometric view of yet another alternative needle holding device according to the present invention;
FIG. 18 is an isometric view of still another alternative needle holding device according to the present invention; and
FIG. 19 is an isometric view of yet still another alternative needle holding device according to the present invention.